LOL!! Furst looks just fine on you, JoJo! 🌠. In my struggle to catch up with all o’ y’all, I see I’m missing out on some serious PartayTime!! ❤👏👁👁💟💫👑👑🍾🍷🍸🍹🍺🍻🎈🎈♎♎🎂🎂 ❤ J4O and JO’B – many happy Solar Returns to you amazing women!!

Hi JO’B, I’m guessing that even as I’m typing you’re having that extra serving of birthday cake that Steve baked. Enjoy! I’ve been working so I’m behind on everything on TOD, including birthday wishes. Before I head off to bed I’m leaving this here.

~What that leaves in terms of the Republican coalition is white Southerners (actually the white working class men we’re hearing so much about in this election) and social conservatives. While the candidacy of Donald Trump has caused a dilemma for some in that latter group, many of them are hanging on due to a combination of Hillary-hate and concerns about the future of the Supreme Court.

That is the base of supporters that the Republican Party leadership now has to contend with. The idea that at any point in this election cycle they could have distanced themselves from that minority coalition and survived is nothing but pure fantasy. The $64,000 question these days is, “How does that party go forward after this election?” Right now, that might be above my pay grade.~

I have to admit, BS has earned back some of my respect. But just a little. The whole “Hillary is a crook” thing was his creation in this cycle; and that anything he didn’t win, was “rigged”. But he’s been pretty good of late.

The accusations around Trump and the lame “responses” that ask why women didn’t come forward when the events occurred (some decades ago) … remind me of Gloria Steinhem’s quote about sexual harassment, which she made back in the ’70s “Women’s Lib” era:

“We used to just call it ‘life.'”

It was a different ballgame back then, for many women, who sometimes were “taught” just to put up with it, depending on the circumstances. And the circumstances often included someone in power over your career and livelihood. Of course, that’s often still the case – even with better laws.

but anyone with a working brain can tell you that if you know you have a rotten past that you would prefer to remain hidden, then you should never issue stupid challenges like “it is just words”;

when I heard that I wondered why the homegrown demagogue and his basket of deplorables defending him could not see how infantile this was.

statements like that are equivalent to waving a red object in front of a raging bull;

it is a challenge to any serious investigative reporters ….. and he has made a habit of insulting all of them and even enticing his supporters to commit acts of violence against them;

he and any politician should remember Gary Hart and how all that went down …. at least I do even though I was so many thousands of miles away, watching & listening to US news from a US consulate & BBC radio

I am so glad these brave women are coming forward. They empower others to do likewise. I am a survivor of clergy sexual abuse. When you believe you are alone and ashamed of what happened, you don’t speak about it.

So sorry for what you went through Bill. The scars remain forever. We have been having a Royal Commission on child sexual abuse & so many many grown men have cried while giving evidence because of what was done to them – because they got worse if they told anyone about it and because the church spent years covering up for the guilty.

You have been vindicated in so many ways – I do hope this has allowed you to overcome the trauma and live a long and rewarding life.

Thank you for the kind words. Several years ago when the priest sex abuse story went public it triggered flashbacks and PTSD symptoms. I decided it was time for me to do something more to heal. I elected not to joint a lawsuit, believing it would not help me. Instead I sought out an Episcopal woman priest who specializes in healing from clergy sex abuse, and who is also a spiritual director. ( I am a trained spiritual director myself.) I went through a process of psychotherapy and spiritual direction and a series of meetings with the religious authorities responsible for the still living priest/monk abuser, culminating in a confrontation with the abuser, telling my story of what happened, and a full confession and apology from the abuser. The process was difficult but very healing. The priest abuser was relieved of all duties and went to a residential treatment center for several months. The monastery/seminary involved sent out letters to all former students inviting other survivors to come forward with the promise of third party advocacy. A system was set up to provide support and assistance to all abuse survivors. So some good came of it. And my life has gone very well. I am happily married for 43 years, and have three wonderful grandchildren.

Thanks for sharing your story. So very pleased it ended well – and as I say so often – grandchildren are our reward for raising children. They make us kind, they make us laugh, they enrich our lives – and then they go home to Mom & Dad 🙂

Bill, thank you for sharing. So many carry the emotional scars forever; so please that you were not only to gain resolution, but was also a catalyst for change to help others.

Read “…happily married…three wonderful grandchildren” and LOL! Reminded me of a conversation with my cousin this afternoon; she’s super granny! Her youngest son overheard her talking to some friends about the GC’s; he accused her of have children solely for the purpose of getting GC’s!

Is there any woman here who worked in the 70’s, 80’s, 90’s, and possibly men as well (thinking of you Bill), who had ANY doubt about Trump’s abuse after watching that debate on Sunday night? The reason that every woman I know acted so incredibly strongly was because we all witnessed a large man using his physicality to intimidate a woman. OF COURSE he has engaged in sexual assault if he was willing to demonstrate the behavior of a predator on the stage for the whole world to see! I found it very traumatic, as did millions of other women who have been in a situation where a man has used his size to intimidate us whether through pure physical abuse or as sexual abuse. THAT night he showed us who he is. The only thing that surprises me is how few men could see it.

First time Hillary spoke – I froze because of his actions. He stalked her around the stage like a beast on heat. I was thankful for the presence of the SS agents. I truly felt they might have to intervene.

Exactly. What we have seen the last few days is PTSD from all the women in this country (and around the world) who at some point have been subjected to some form of male intimidation. It is going to be a long time before this country recovers from this election in so many ways.

I have never been sexually abused but I recognized it right away. It’s a tactic of all bullies, male and female. I’ve had a few women in my life that try the same thing. I also experienced emotional abuse in my marriage and recognized the ways he gas-lighted, projected, and used other verbally abusive tactics. As my therapist said about my husband, “For him there is no objective truth. What is true for him is whatever is best for him in that moment.” So when Trump says something in the debate and minutes later denies having said it, it makes perfect sense because to say it in the debate is good for him (he thinks) and therefore true. But after the debate when people are angry about it, it’s not good for him so it’s not true. Also like my husband, he is a game player and every interaction is a strategic move in a game. Therefore they cannot recognize when people are speaking honestly with no ulterior motive because everything they say has an ulterior motive and they do not or cannot understand people who are not trying to play games. Despite all that had gone on between us and the fact that I made it clear to him I was filing for divorce, he thought it was just another move in the game and was completely shocked when he was served with the papers. Likewise, Trump does not have the ability to discern when people are being straight with him.

Any sane person knowing his past antics and verbiage would affect his ability to be elected to the presidency of the USA would consider this prior to deciding to run. Donald Trump may not be sane. His privileged narcissistic personality probably shields him from having any form of common sense. Add authoritarian pathological liar and wealth to the description causing us to see that sanity and common sense does not register as an attribute for the Donald.

OG, DT’s emotional insecurity compelled him to enter the race because he had been humiliated publicly by PBO at the WHCD. Given his supreme arrogance, he thought he could bluff and bully his way through to the presidency as he has bluffed and intimidated all his life. And look how well he succeeded against those weak opponents in the Republican primary. I remember him saying last summer that Hillary would be easy to beat and I’m sure he considered that she would fold under the strength of his scorn and overall magnificence. It is probably blowing all his emotional fuses to face the very real possibility that he will be bested by a woman.

g’nite JoB – sleep well – the US women have done what the men could not or would not do – I believe it was the sight of donald stalking at the debate that convinced the increasing number of women to tell their stories.

Sleep knowing what you all have done & be proud and thankful. You are all keeping PBO’s dream alive.

Mr. Stumpf won’t receive a severance package, the bank said. The board, at Mr. Stumpf’s own recommendation, had previously decided he should relinquish $41 million in unvested equity, one of the biggest-ever forfeitures of pay by a bank chief. He still retires with tens of millions of dollars earned during roughly 35 years at the bank.